Coles drops two TDs: Kansas City 27, NY Jets 7

[tr1]

Kansas City 27, NY Jets 7

Preview - Box Score - Recap

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/recap?gid=20050911012&prov=ap

By DOUG TUCKER, AP Sports Writer

September 11, 2005

AP - Sep 11, 4:27 pm EDT

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- The Kansas City Chiefs simply were hoping to improve one of the NFL's sorriest defenses, not open the season with the first shutout of the New York Jets in almost a decade.

Yet that's what they came within 29 seconds of doing. Although weakened by first-half injuries to two starters, the Chiefs' revamped defense held the mistake-prone Jets out of the end zone until the final half-minute Sunday en route to a 27-7 victory.

Larry Johnson rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and Priest Holmes added 85 yards and a touchdown for a fast-starting Kansas City offense that scored 17 points on its first three possessions.

The Chiefs' defense then made sure that was more than enough, forcing seven fumbles and recovering two. Chad Pennington was sacked three times. Backup Jay Fiedler enabled the Jets to avoid their first shutout since Dec. 24, 1995, when he hit Chris Baker on a 23-yard touchdown pass with 29 seconds to go.

Pennington, coming off shoulder surgery, was intercepted once and had several passes dropped, including one by Laveraneus Coles that might have gone for a touchdown while the game was still in doubt in the first half. Coles also dropped a pass in the end zone in the final minute from Fiedler.

On their first three possessions, the Chiefs had touchdown drives of 75 and 95 yards and a 41-yard field goal that followed Patrick Surtain's recovery of Pennington's fumble. Holmes had a 35-yard run on the first drive, then Johnson, who is challenging him for playing time, finished it off with a 35-yard dash into the end zone.

Johnson also had 54 yards on five runs in a 66-yard march that made it 27-0 on the first play of the fourth quarter. His 23-yard run put the ball on the 4, and he took it in on the next play.

The Jets were hurt by more kicking woes, bringing back bad memories of the two missed field goals in a three-point loss to Pittsburgh in last year's playoffs. Mike Nugent, drafted in the second round out of Ohio State, slipped while attempting a 28-yard field goal and Eric Hicks blocked the low-trajectory ball.

Trent Green, who underwent vascular surgery on his left leg on Aug. 30, hit his first eight passes but wound up just 15-for-26 for 200 yards. Pennington was 21-for-34 for 264 yards.

Midway through the second quarter, Chiefs tackle Ryan Sims went out with a foot injury and Surtain, the former Pro Bowl cornerback and one of Kansas City's several high-profile offseason acquisitions, was injured while returning an interception.

Holmes scored on a 3-yard run on the Chiefs' second possession, a 95-yard drive on which Green completed all six of his passes for 87 yards. Lawrence Tynes added field goals of 41 and 38 yards for the Chiefs, both coming after Jets fumbles.

Updated on Sunday, Sep 11, 2005 4:47 pm EDT

[TaylorPickSix]

haha i saw his stats. 6 catches for 66 yarcs. fair enough, but i'll take santana's anyday

4 catches 96 yards.

[Underwater Ally]

Looks like the honeymoon with Jets fans may be wearing a bit thin.

http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=20236

[Biscuit]

It's only one week...but the notion that the SKins got the better player looks very real...if it wasn't for the cap hit, that trade would have been a real coup

[dreamshatterer]

Coles sucks, nough said.

[Danny Montana]

Coles will somehow find a way to blame Coach Gibbs and the Skins for his drops today. :laugh:

"They weren't using my hands the right way in Washington, and it made me drop those passes today!"

[Danny Montana]

That GangGreen board was a funny read.

What do Dillard's and Dan Snyder have in Common? Laveranues stole money from both. Woody, you may be next.

:laugh:

[Parlett316]

One of my bestest e-friends is a Jet fan, so it's hard for me to get on him but screw those ganggreen dudes!

[nyjet1021]

i think as with jets fans,you redskin fans are readinging into things alittle to much-it was one game-we will see how the year goes for both players i'm still happy with the trade,i think both the redskins and jets got what they needed out of it-jets got a tough reciver that are qb feels good throwing too-and the skins got a reciver that can go deep

[tr1]

i think as with jets fans,you redskin fans are readinging into things alittle to much-it was one game-we will see how the year goes for both players i'm still happy with the trade,i think both the redskins and jets got what they needed out of it-jets got a tough reciver that are qb feels good throwing too-and the skins got a reciver that can go deep

If he keeps dropping your quarterbacks' touchdowns, your quarterbacks won't being throwing to him much longer. :laugh:

[nyjet1021]

with the way the team was playing catching the ball would have been a bigger shock,but i see that rubbing salt in wounds is your thing-i would have to say in the nfl it doesn't take long for things to come full circle

[ntotoro]

Not for nothing, then what the point in a Jets fan coming to a Redskins' board? You cane bet a little is gonna' get dished out after the history we have had over the last few years.

[tr1]

with the way the team was playing catching the ball would have been a bigger shock,but i see that rubbing salt in wounds is your thing-i would have to say in the nfl it doesn't take long for things to come full circle

Rubbing salt isn't my intention...

If you want some salve for your loss yesterday, stick to GangGreen...

So far, this has been a better trade for the Redskins. Not conjecture, but fact.

[OWUeagleMD]

It takes a bold man to begin factually assesing trades after one week.

Bold, or ignorant, I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

You may be proven right eventually, but assessing the trade at this point is only a mild improvement from assessing it in April.

[nyjet1021]

owueaglemd i see you r a wise man-if we went by one weeks game then chris baker should start packing for the pro bowl-my reasons for coming to this site as so many of your fans vist r's was to see how santana did.still love him as a player just think coles is a better fit with us and trust me i have watched him play all his games except one he will drop his fair share-

[tr1]

It takes a bold man to begin factually assesing trades after one week.

Bold, or ignorant, I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

You may be proven right eventually, but assessing the trade at this point is only a mild improvement from assessing it in April.

Moss is a plus for our team chemistry. That alone has made this a better trade for the Redskins.

Here's a good article, in case you missed it:

'Embarrassing' is only way to say it

Sep 12, 2005

Columnist

Bob Glauber Cerebral vortex for clueless Chad

Sep 12, 2005

BY KEN BERGER

STAFF CORRESPONDENT

September 12, 2005

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- It was the worst-case scenario that Herman Edwards had feared, 14-0 before you could say "burnt ends," the mouth-watering barbecue specialty from the renowned local eatery, Arthur Bryant's.

At the end of the day, the Jets' vision of being a Super Bowl contender appeared to have gone up in smoke.

First the good news: They managed to avoid their first opening-day shutout since 1985 with a garbage-time touchdown. But their 27-7 loss to the Chiefs yesterday was the worst kind of defeat - one that evoked pity from the opposition and one that required apologies.

The litany of miscues roll off the Jets fan's tongue this morning: seven fumbles, three sacks, an interception, eight penalties, six trips into the opponent's territory, including three inside the 20, without coming away with so much as a field goal.

Curtis Martin said it was the most embarrassed he's felt in his eight seasons as a Jet.

Chad Pennington said, "We know we self-destructed."

Kevin Mawae, involved in four fumbled exchanges with Pennington (three) and Jay Fiedler (one), said it was the worst game he's played in 10 years. Mawae apologized to his teammates and coaches. Laveranues Coles apologized to Pennington for dropping a sure touchdown pass in the third quarter. Mike Nugent couldn't believe he slipped and fell while attempting his first field goal as a Jet, which was blocked.

"We got outcoached and outplayed. Put it on me," said Edwards, who is 0-1 for the third time in five seasons.

"We're not going to hang our heads," Pennington said. "We know it's a 16-round fight, and we lost the first round."

It started with a 75-yard opening drive that consisted of a 35-yard run by Priest Holmes followed immediately by a 35-yard TD run by Larry Johnson. It was 7-0 just 81 seconds into the game. It got much worse.

On the Jets' first possession, Pennington (21-for-34, 264 yards) suffered the first of three sack-fumble combinations in a stunningly poor performance. He lost one of those fumbles, and lost one of three more fumbles resulting from bad exchanges from center. Two of those came in the shotgun, one of the supposed benefits of firing Paul Hackett and replacing him with Mike Heimerdinger.

"That's what we wanted, we wanted the shotgun," Edwards said. "That's great, as long as it doesn't go on the ground. It went on the ground today."

When Holmes capped an effortless drive with a 3-yard TD run that made it 14-0 with 3:04 left in the first quarter, Chiefs defensive coordinator Gunther Cunningham had Pennington right where he wanted him: in the crosshairs of an all-out blitz package. Pennington was rattled, resembling Brooks Bollinger behind the third-string offensive line in a preseason game.

"That was one of the worst offensive performances that I think we've had since I've been here," said Martin, held to 57 yards on 20 carries. "That's the most embarrassed I've felt since I've been here . . . "

The worst of Pennington's turnovers was a sack and fumble on third-and-9 from the Chiefs' 10 on the last play of the first quarter. Defensive end Jared Allen beat tackle Jason Fabini and knocked the ball loose when he sacked Pennington, who should have thrown the ball away and taken the field goal to cut the deficit to 14-3.

Instead, the Chiefs wound up with a field goal and a 17-0 lead.

It was reasonable to expect Pennington to be rusty, but he played worse than anyone imagined. It wasn't a low point for him statistically - he had five interceptions two years ago against New England - but he'd never looked this intimidated.

"He hadn't played and hadn't practiced a lot," said Edwards, alluding to all the time Pennington missed while rehabbing his shoulder this offseason.

The defense wasn't any better, getting creased for 198 yards rushing. With Ty Law holding his own in his first game back from a foot injury, cornerback David Barrett gave up play after play. John Abraham played about 20 to 25 snaps, not enough to make a big impact.

Even when the Jets' offense got something going, bad things happened.

http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/ny-spjets124423206sep12,0,6472037.story?coll=ny-football-headlines

[tr1]

It takes a bold man to begin factually assesing trades after one week.

Bold, or ignorant, I'm not sure which is more appropriate.

You may be proven right eventually, but assessing the trade at this point is only a mild improvement from assessing it in April.

Funny, an Eagles fan commenting on a Jets' thread on a Redskins board...hmmm...

Anyway, here's another article in case you missed this one, too:

Coles returns, earns 3 drops in popularity

By Sam Mellinger

For the Times Herald-Record

Kansas City, Mo. – So in walks Laveranues Coles, here to save the day, to push the Jets over the top in the AFC. After all, this team was a field goal away from playing in the conference championship last year.

A funny thing happened on the Jets' march to the Super Bowl, a shocking chain of events transpired on Coles' way to hero status:

He dropped three – count 'em, three – potential touchdown passes, a personal hat trick of failure in an awful 27-7 season-opening loss to the Chiefs yesterday at Arrowhead Stadium.

"That's what they brought me in here for, to make those plays," Coles said. "Regardless of the mistakes that were made, I put that on my shoulders."

After playing the past two seasons in Washington, Coles was traded to the Jets, who drafted him in 2000 and helped him evolve into a premier receiver in his first three NFL seasons.

He recorded more than 3,400 yards receiving since 2002, and brought high expectations when he returned to the Jets last offseason.

Coles finished the game with six catches for 66 yards, but that's not what people will remember. No, they'll recall the back-to-back plays in the third quarter when Coles dropped a well-placed pass from quarterback Chad Pennington on a slant route close to the goal line. On the next play, Coles got about five yards behind the Chiefs' defense, but again let the ball clang off his hands.

The second drop was close to the sideline, and would have been a nice catch, but Coles went straight to the sideline and apologized to his teammates for flubbing what he considered two makeable plays.

Making a bad day even worse, Coles dropped another pass, this time in the end zone, with 34 seconds left.

"I pretty much let my team down," Coles said. "I know you can't really make up for it, but in your mind, you have to move on to the next play and the next game."

To be fair and clear, Coles did not cost the Jets this win. He was only one part of a surprisingly bad season opener for a team that some expected to contend for the conference title.

The Jets lost two of seven fumbles, were whistled for eight penalties for 80 yards, threw one interception, allowed three sacks and had a field goal blocked.

Pennington missed several open receivers, the defense failed to put much pressure on Kansas City quarterback Trent Green, and allowed Chiefs running backs Larry Johnson and Priest Holmes to combine for 195 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries.

If Coles makes those plays, the score is closer, but the Jets still lose.

"You could go to every single player in here and we'd all tell you the mistakes we made," said receiver Justin McCareins. "I'm sure Chad would tell you the things he did wrong. I personally didn't play very well, and I'm sure there's a lot of people in here that feel the same way."

The key, of course, is how the Jets respond to this.

"That's what makes guys professionals," Coles said. "Being able to move on past a bad play or bad game and look at the next play or next game. I think we can do that."

http://www.recordonline.com/archive/2005/09/12/jetsside.htm

[/quote/